


Can't Keep My Hands to Myself

by RavenclawPianist



Series: I'm Trying, Trying, Trying [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged up characters (not really plot relevant), F/M, Fluff, Gen, Identity Reveal, seriously just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-08 15:48:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10390254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenclawPianist/pseuds/RavenclawPianist
Summary: After finding out who Ladybug is, Adrien has a hard time keeping his hands to himself.





	

Ladybug dropped into the little alleyway between two buildings a block from her parents’ bakery, setting her yoyo back onto her hip as she murmured “Tikki, spots off.” 

The kwami landed in Marinette’s open palm, looking up at the girl with wide eyes and a yawn. “I’m sorry I couldn’t last all the way home, Marinette.”

“It’s okay,” she assured her friend. “I can walk the last block home. We’ll get some cookies for you from the bakery on the way up, alright?”

Tikki nodded as Marinette re-entered the street. Neither of them noticed a blond figure with cat ears frozen on a rooftop across the way.

 

Chat Noir hurtled through the bedroom window he had left open earlier that evening, barely letting his feet touch the floor before releasing Plagg from the transformation. “Plagg, was that- did you see- She’s Marinette!” 

“Kid, panic later. Camembert now.”

Adrien went to his desk and pulled out a chunk of cheese, handing it to the black cat kwami before beginning to pace. His thoughts barely had a chance to register before he jumped to the next one; going over all the clues he had missed before that linked Paris’ spotted superhero to his shy classmate: Same height, hair, and eyes. Similar voices, the main difference being the confidence Ladybug had when she spoke. How Ladybug knew more about all his friends and classmates than ever really made sense. He had never seen them at the same time, although he dismissed that as the least useful clue- there were a lot of people he had never seen in the same room with Ladybug. All the same, Marinette especially did seem to vanish quickly whenever Ladybug was needed or akuma activity occurred. 

Then, of course, there was the fact that he saw Ladybug drop between two buildings and a minute later Marinette walked out onto the street.

“I should tell her I know she’s Ladybug, right?” he asked Plagg. “That’s the polite thing to do. And then I can tell her I’m Chat Noir and we can move on with our lives and get married and have three kids. It’ll be great.”

Plagg let out a long-suffering sigh over the last crumbs of his cheese. “How do you plan to tell her? I don’t think she’ll like to hear you caught her transforming. She was pretty clear about wanting to keep your identities a secret.”

Adrien frowned, running a hand over his hair. “Right,” he sighed. “I’ll definitely start with an apology and then tell her?”

“Ladybug will kick your ass,” Plagg commented, searching the top of the desk for any cheese he missed.

“Marinette won’t,” Adrien replied, before pausing in his pacing. “Except that she is Ladybug. But she’s so much quieter as Marinette? I don’t think she’d get angry at school- I should not tell her at school that’s a terrible idea.”

“Why do you have to tell her at all?” Plagg asked. “Just get her to figure out that you’re Chat Noir and then she can confront you about it and you won’t have to say anything.”  
Adrien thought about it. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to be absolutely sure? It’s possible Marinette just happened to be taking a walk and Ladybug could have run out the other side of the alley?”

Plagg snorted before floating over to Adrien’s bed and settling down on one of the pillows. “Sure. And you just have a healthy appreciation for stinky cheeses.”

 

 

The next day at school he meant to ask Marinette for a moment to talk after the last bell. Nino and Alya had mentioned wanting to stop by a new gelato stand, and he figured that would be the perfect excuse to get some alone time with Marinette. He would explain that he saw her leaving the place where Ladybug had just been and apologize for finding out her identity. It would be awkward at first, but then he’d reveal he was Chat Noir and they’d laugh and end up better friends as a result. Maybe in a few months he could even convince her to go out on a date with him.

Adrien meant to handle the situation maturely. 

He really meant to.

Instead, when he saw Marinette and Alya approaching the front steps before classes started for the day, his mind went completely blank. All he could focus on was the blue of her eyes, the way the corners of her mouth curled up as she smiled, and the easy grace with which she moved towards the school. That grace vanished as quickly as he noticed it, however, as she stumbled over the third step towards the doors.

Without thinking, Adrien reached out to grab her elbow and keep her from falling. She looked up at him as he steadied her, blue eyes particularly bright against the pale pink of a blush rising on her cheeks. 

“T-thanks, Adrien,” she smiled softly up at him. He nodded back at her, throat tight as he realized he was looking into his Lady’s eyes for the first time knowing exactly who she was. 

Marinette looked down at her elbow and back up at Adrien. “Um, Adrien, um, y-you-”

“Pretty sure Marinette needs her elbow back,” Nino said.

“Unless you want to escort her to class?” Alya jumped in, grinning. Marinette looked at the ground and blushed more deeply.

Adrien suddenly realized he still had a hold of her elbow and had actually begun to absently run circles on her arm with his thumb. He let go as if she burned him, color rising in his cheeks. “Sorry!”

Marinette smiled at him again. He might have stopped breathing. “It’s o-okay!”

He followed his friends into the school, hand flexing at his side as he could still feel the warmth from her skin against his palm. His plan to just tell her he was Chat Noir flew out the nearest window. He wouldn’t be able to get through the conversation without doing something stupid, like kissing her or hugging her for two hours straight and then following her home to convince her seventeen was definitely old enough to get married. He’d have to come up with a better plan.

Before he knew it, the morning ended and everyone headed out for lunch. Nino stood in front of their shared desk, waiting. “Dude, come on.”

Adrien shoved his things into his messenger bag. “Sorry, I didn’t realize class ended.”

“What’s going on with you?” Nino asked as they crossed the courtyard. “You’ve been zoning out all day.”

Adrien shrugged. “Just an off day?”

Nino gave him an unimpressed look. “Dude, you know that excuse is getting old, right?”

Alya and Marinette waited for them in front of the school. The group chatted about the upcoming release of Ultimate Mecha Strike IV. Once they reached the café they’d decided on for lunch, Adrien held open the door for his friends. He didn’t realize he had placed a hand on the small of Marinette’s back to help her into the café until she turned her head and gave him a wide-eyed look, cheeks turning pink again.

He snatched his hand back. “Sorry! I-uh- I didn’t mean to- uh-”

“You two coming?” Alya asked from the line at the counter. “Come on!”

Marinette gave him another glance before going to stand with her best friend. 

Adrien rubbed the heel of his palm over his forehead. He needed to get a hold of himself or this could get very bad very fast.

 

 

Over the next few days, Adrien tried and mostly failed to keep from touching Marinette. Whether it was just a brush of their hands when he passed papers back to her in class, touching her on the arm to get her attention during a conversation, ‘accidentally’ brushing the back of her hand with his when they were walking together, or one utterly embarrassing time when he tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, he found himself unable to keep from touching her. It wasn’t even that he was just physically attracted to her (although that couldn’t be discounted as a factor), but that he wanted to prove to himself that she was there and real. 

By the end of the week, Adrien knew he had to say something. Marinette looked more and more confused and concerned with each touch, Nino kept giving him weird looks, and Alya had actually pulled him aside to tell him to get his act together and either ask Marinette out on a date or leave her alone. 

He was already waiting for Ladybug at their usual meeting spot on the Eiffel Tower when she showed up as the sun began to sink into the Seine. She smiled at him as she sat down, nudging his shoulder with hers. “How’s my favorite kitty?”

“Better for seeing you, my Lady,” he replied, leaning in towards her. “Did you miss me?”

“Always do, mon minou,” she said easily. “Did you see any activity yet tonight?”

He shook his head, studying her outline as she looked out over the city. The setting sun brought out hints of blue in her hair and leant an extra glow to her face. The mask covered her freckles and cheekbones, but he was suddenly hit by just how obvious it was that she and Marinette were the same person. 

“Chat?” she asked when he didn’t respond. 

“I have to tell you something,” he blurted out. “And I’m really really sorry and this isn’t how I wanted to tell you, but it doesn’t feel right not telling you and I’m so sorry and-”

“Whoa, Chat, calm down!” she reached out to take his hands in hers. “Whatever it is, I’m sure we can figure this out!”

He took a deep breath, holding tightly onto her hands. His thumbs rubbed light circles on her wrists. “I saw you when you transformed after fighting Dancer last week,” he heard her intake of breath. Adrien kept his eyes on their hands, continuing to soothingly move his thumbs. “I didn’t mean to, but I saw you come out of the alley.”

“You know who I am?” she asked quietly, voice tight. He felt her entire body tense up.

He nodded. “I am so sorry, I know you wanted us to keep our identities secret. But I want you to know that I am going to keep your secret, and no one will find out who you are from me.”

“Do you know me as a civilian?” her fingers twitched against his hands, but he refused to let go of her.

“Yes.”

“Are you disappointed, knowing it’s me?” her voice was barely a whisper.

That got him to look up at her, heart aching with the vulnerability in her voice and the light film of tears forming in her stunning blue eyes. He let go of one of her hands to reach out and cup her cheek. “No,” he said, voice firm and decided. “I could never be disappointed with you. You are- you are everything, Marinette.”

She gasped, leaning in to rest her forehead on his shoulder as the tears slid down her cheeks. He wrapped her in his arms, holding her tightly as her shoulders shuddered under soft sobs. As she calmed down, he ran a gloved hand over her hair. After a moment she pulled away again. Reluctantly, he let her go. 

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, quickly running the back of her hand under her eyes. “I just-”

He shook his head. “You don’t need to explain. I’m terrified to tell you who I am,” he smiled crookedly at her. “I’m worried you’ll be the one who’s disappointed.”

She reached out to hold his hands again, staring straight into his eyes with the most serious expression he had ever seen her wear. “I will never be disappointed with you, chatton.”

Adrien took a deep breath. “Plagg, claws in.”

He kept his eyes on Ladybug’s as the green glow moved up his body and the suit changed back into his normal jeans, t-shirt, and button-down combo. Her eyes widened and her hands on his clenched almost painfully tight. Neither said a word as they stared at each other. 

“Y-y-you’re-” she stammered. “A-Adrien- oh my god.”

He smiled weakly. “Hi.”

She launched herself forward, throwing her arms around him. He wobbled slightly as he tried to keep his balance, arms wrapping around her in response to hold her just as tightly. Adrien heard her murmur something just before a pink glow rolled across her, leaving her back to her usual self. She scooted a little closer to him on the beam of the Eiffel Tower, leaving as little space between them as possible. 

“I have had the biggest crush on you since we met,” Marinette told him, her cheek against the curve where his neck and shoulder met. 

He grinned, moving one hand up to tangle in one of her pigtails. “Me too.”

They sat there with their arms wrapped around each other a little longer without saying anything before she pulled back slightly. “Wait, is this why all week you kept touching me?”

He felt his cheeks warm with a blush. “Um, yeah. I found out who you were and then it just felt like I had to keep checking to make sure you were real.”

She grinned at him, nothing like the shy smiles she usually gave him. His heart started beating in double-time. “I think I get that. I don’t really want to stop hugging you right now.”

“So why stop?” he asked, tightening his arms around her again to pull her against him. 

She laughed, squeezing his waist in her embrace as she leaned into him. “We do eventually have to go home.”

“Eventually,” he agreed. “How about we just stay like this for another few hours?”

“That’s a bit unrealistic,” Marinette pointed out. “Our arms will go to sleep.”

Adrien leaned his cheek on the top of her head. “Okay, until our arms fall asleep.”

He felt her smile against his neck, sending a shiver down his spine. “Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is my first Miraculous Ladybug fic, but I'm hoping to write more (and may be open to writing Marinette's point of view and a sinful sequel if people are interested).


End file.
